"Easy, Overton, lad," admonished the captain. "Nothing is proved by calling another hard names. Take that chair, Mr. Overton, and wait until Sergeant Raney returns."
Pausing by the chair, before dropping into it, Hal faced his captain to say:
"I beg, sir, that you will order a search at once. I offer my person, my baggage--everything to be searched."
"I will have Sergeant Raney do it as soon as he returns," Captain Foster a.s.sured the angry young officer. "Raney is a wholly discreet fellow."
In time Sergeant Raney returned. He looked somewhat surprised when, after being taken into the officers" tent with his two superiors and Ruggles, Raney was ordered to begin a careful search of the lieutenant.
Captain Foster stood where he could instantly have detected any effort that the Army boy might have made to throw any thing away.
Hal"s first act was to unfasten his belt, and drop it, revolver and all, upon a chair. Then he straightened up, very white from the humiliation, yet absolutely sure, of course, that nothing damaging could be found upon him. Sergeant Raney went systematically through the young officer"s pockets, searched for a money belt and failed to find one, explored his young officer"s socks and shoes and even searched Hal"s hatband.
"Now, the cartridge-box and revolver holster, Sergeant," insisted Captain Foster.
"And after that whatever baggage the young man may have," breathed Ruggles. "Also his bedding and----"
"Peace, sir!" commanded Captain Foster. "Wait until----"
Sergeant Raney, having opened Hal"s revolver holster, now extracted a crumpled ma.s.s of folded bills!
"That"s the money!" cried Ruggles, as Captain Foster unfolded the bills.
"Read out the numbers, Captain, and we"ll all take notes. I"ll prove by the bank that this was my money earlier in the day!"
CHAPTER XXI
AMERICAN WOMEN IN PERIL!
Slowly Captain Foster read off the numbers, writing them down in a notebook that he carried. As the older officer glanced up he met the burning gaze of Lieutenant Hal Overton.
"Captain," cried the Army boy hoa.r.s.ely, "I don"t know by what juggling trickery this was done, but I never have handled that money, though it would seem that I must have been carrying it around in my holster."
"Bah!" sneered Ruggles.
Had it not been for Captain Foster"s quick leap between the pair Hal would have knocked the purple-faced fellow down.
"Careful, Mr. Overton," warned the captain. "Violence will injure your case, not help it. Mr. Ruggles, I will hold this money as evidence, but I will give you a receipt for it."
"On that receipt will you enter the numbers of the bills?" demanded the purple-faced one craftily.
"Certainly," and Foster made the receipt out in that form, handing it to the promoter.
"Sergeant of the guard!" called Captain Foster.
Hal stiffened, his face turning ghastly. He felt that it would be better to die than to live a life of disgrace. The thought that he had been easily but cleverly tricked made his blood boil within him.
"Sergeant, conduct the prisoner Ruggles to the guard-tent, where the Mexicans are. Instruct the guard that they are to make absolutely sure that this prisoner doesn"t escape."
"Doesn"t your young man go to the guard-tent, too?" demanded Ruggles, as he stepped toward the sergeant.
"I will be responsible for the lieutenant," rejoined the captain coldly.
"Thank you, Sergeant Raney. You may go. Of course you will be discreet."
When the two officers had the tent to themselves Foster turned his grave look on Hal Overton.
"My boy," said the captain, in a voice that shook, "I can"t realize, even yet, that you have forfeited your honor as an officer."
"Nor have I, sir," returned Hal. "And I am even bold enough to hope that I can yet find some way of throwing the whole lie back in that fellow"s throat with more proof than even he will care to swallow."
"I hope you can, Overton, with all my heart," responded the older soldier, resting a hand on his white-faced junior"s shoulder.
"Do you believe me guilty, sir?" asked Hal, looking straight into his commander"s eyes.
"Heavens knows I don"t. To me, Overton, the whole thing seems absurd and incredible. But I am your commanding officer. A charge has been made that apparently destroys your honor. Some seeming proof against you has been found. There is only one course open to me. I must detain you in camp until I have communicated through the usual military channels."
"Am--am I under arrest?" asked Hal somewhat huskily.
"No, no, Overton!" exclaimed the older soldier quickly. "But you must give me your parole--not to go beyond camp limits at any time or for any purpose without my express permission."
"You have my parole, sir. It shall be rigidly observed."
"And now, Mr. Overton, I suggest that, as you have nothing else to do, you lie down and sleep through the night."
"_Sleep_, sir?" echoed Lieutenant Hal bitterly.
"Rest, then, at all events."
For two or three hours the Army boy lay and tossed. Toward morning, however, he secured some real sleep. When he opened his eyes it was to find Noll in the tent.
"I"ve heard the news, old bunkie," cried Terry, coming forward as soon as he saw his comrade"s eyes open. "All rot! Forget it. It"ll come out all right. When Prescott and Holmes heard the news they laughed aloud over the absurdity of it."
"I wish I was as sure of every one"s faith in me," quivered the Army boy, returning his chums" hand-grip.
"Get up and dress. Captain Foster has had his meal, but the others are all waiting for you to hurry through to the table."
Three other young officers had crowded into the tent before Hal had finished dressing.
"The whole thing is absurd, Overton," declared Lieutenant d.i.c.k Prescott.
"Holmesy and I have told Captain Foster so. We had you under our eyes in the Thirty-fourth during most of your more than three years of service.
We know you too well to believe a word of any such fool charge against you."
"Even in the face of the money found in my holster?" asked Hal smiling wistfully.
"Huh!" retorted Lieutenant Greg Holmes. "It wouldn"t shake our belief in you, old man, if the whole United States Treasury had been found hiding in your holster! Now, forget it all, as well as you can, Overton. Leave it to your friends, who will be cooler-headed, to find the way out from under this toy cloud. Why, even Foster knows it"s all so absurd that he doesn"t order you under arrest."